Five Times Ryoma Called Sakuno Dense
by xMeme
Summary: [RyoSaku]Because Ryoma learns subtlety doesn't always work,especially on someone like Ryuuzaki Sakuno.


**Tennis no Oujisama** © Konomi Takeshi JUMP Shueisha

**Five Times Ryoma Called Sakuno Dense (And One Time She Got Even)**

* * *

**One**

At age fifteen, Echizen Ryoma gave his very first White Day present—a moment which would have caused Kikumaru and Momoshiro to celebrate if only they were made aware about it. (Or better yet, if only they had witnessed it firsthand.)

It was a popular fact in the entire Seigaku community that Echizen Ryoma never followed the White day tradition. Some assumed it's because he's not willing to participate in something he considered trivial; the more romantic of the lot meanwhile believed he was simply reserving his present until he found that one special person. (Which every single fangirl believed was going to be her.)

But despite his obvious non-regard for White Day, girls never stopped from showering the Tennis Prince with chocolates during Valentine's Day. Ask one of his numerous admirers why and she'd probably say, "Well, you'll never know…Echizen-kun might suddenly break his own tradition."

And on March 14, three years after he entered Seigaku, Echizen Ryoma,to the surprise of many, actually did just that.

* * *

Ryoma had never felt so uncomfortable in his life. Truth be told, he was used to being the center of attention. He was used to being observed. But that was only when he was inside the tennis court; outside was a whole different story. 

As he sensed more and more curious glances were being thrown his way, Ryoma cursed in silence. He was not a Science experiment for chrissakes! Eyeing the package in his hands, he knew there was only one thing he needed to do. The sooner he got this done, the sooner he could leave.

Time seemed to have stopped for everyone as they watched him held out a small white box towards a certain pigtailed girl. Little by little, fangirl hearts cracked–did someone finally snag their elusive Tennis Prince?

"Take it," he ordered as he casually looked at the girl before him. She, on the other hand, donned an expression of wonder.

"What is this, Ryoma-kun?" she asked a bit hesitantly.

"It's a gift."

She wrinkled her brow. "And why are you giving me this?"

Ryoma fought the urge to snort. Wasn't it obvious why? Hell, Ryuuzaki was so dense! "Because it's White Day," he answered matter-of-factly.

"Oh," she muttered before she moved to accept the box. The moment her palms touched the carton, several fangirl hearts shattered into pieces.

In deed at age fifteen, Echizen Ryoma finally gave his very first White Day present…

"Umm…ano…thank you for this, Ryoma-kun."

Well, at least, technically speaking.

"Don't thank me, thank my brother. It's from him. I merely delivered it."

As soon as he had said this, several sighs of relief were heard in the hallway. Ryuuzaki on the other hand looked disappointed—or so he thought. The expression disappeared as quickly as it came that Ryoma wasn't sure anymore if it was real or was simply a figment of his imagination.

"Well I still think it's proper to thank you for bringing this." He saw her smile softly as she gave a brief nod. "And I'll be sure to send Ryoga-san an email later."

Ryoma almost wanted to ask why she had his brother's email address but then he realized that he shouldn't be surprised. After all, they did become close when Ryoga temporarily took his place as her tennis tutor.

She was the sister he never had, the older Echizen would often say, and then he would go on and rave about how adorable, nice, sweet, and thoughtful she was over and over and over and over again to the point that Ryoma got sick of hearing it.

If he didn't know better, he would have thought his brother was trying to sell Ryuuzaki to him.

Which was a futile effort if ever that was the older Echizen's intention. Girls were the last on his priorities. He didn't have time for them. He didn't want to give time for them. Ryoga wholly knew that as much as he also knew that Echizen Ryoma couldn't be swayed so easily.

As he looked into Ryuuzaki Sakuno's mildly blushing face, Ryoma swore to himself he wouldn't fall in love: not today, not tomorrow, not in the next ten years.

And there was nobody, _nobody_ who could ever change his mind.

* * *

**Two**

At age sixteen, Echizen Ryoma realized that even if you had your life perfectly planned out, sometimes things still didn't always go the way you wanted them. As hard as he tried to keep everything on track, he couldn't control certain circumstances from happening; nor could he stop change from doing what it did best. In deed, for the past year, things happened when he had least expected them to and they had altered his life so slowly and so carefully he had barely noticed that his belief when he was fifteen was no longer identical to the one he held right then.

At age sixteen, Echizen Ryoma realized he was actually attracted to a girl—not just any girl, mind you, but a girl who frequently sported two waist-long mahogany pigtails. The last girl he thought he would actually regard in a non-platonic manner. (Well, blame it on Ryoga's persistent campaign. )

Life was truly full of surprises. Imagine that—in spite of all the much prettier girls in Seigaku, the one who got his attention was Ryuuzaki Sakuno–plain, clumsy and couldn't play a decent game of tennis even if her life depended on it.

Definitely, she was a far cry from perfection. But then, who the hell was perfect anyway? (That Monkey King from Hyoutei was delusional!) Truth be told, he had grown to like her the way she was, with all her mistakes and shortcomings.

He didn't care if she wasn't drop–dead gorgeous (his admiration for her wasn't purely physical anyway); or if she had the clumsiest pair of feet ever bestowed on someone (at least, that gave him an excuse to catch and hold her every time she tripped, slipped or fell); or if she couldn't catch up to him as far as tennis skills were concerned (well, there was a _reason_ why he had stopped protesting vehemently whenever his father would volunteer him to be Ryuuzaki's tennis tutor)—he liked her and that's it.

Ryoma eyed the girl sitting across him and smiled faintly. She was currently so busy writing the results of today's science experiment on her notebook that she failed to notice that her lab partner was also busy admiring how nice she looked in a ponytail. (Ponytails fit her more.) He was a bit startled, however when she suddenly looked up to meet his gaze. But he was ever quick to recover and almost immediately he had his mask of nonchalance back on.

"Ano…Ryoma-kun, are you done writing your report?"

He answered mutely with a nod.

"I'm done as well. Do you want me to pass it for you?" she asked as she stood up from her seat. Offering a hand, she then gave him one of her signature smiles.

If this happened four years ago, Ryoma was certain he would have just handed his papers to her and looked away without a care. He wouldn't feel like his chest was going to explode at the sight of her smile and he wouldn't silently curse his stupid heart for not calming down. He wouldn't feel the urge to kiss her right then and there.(Damn teenage hormones!) Heck, he wouldn't even imagine kissing her.

But that was four years ago. Four years later, things were more different. He was now taller, older, wiser and… he now had a tendency to make mistakes the Echizen Ryoma of four years ago wouldn't dare to make.

"Yes, I want you…"

Like blurting out his feelings, for instance.

Ryoma blinked upon realizing the words that had left his mouth. Then he saw Sakuno's brow furrow in confusion and he instantly thought of only one thing: damage control.

"… to pass it for me," he added hastily as he handed his report to her. He saw the confused expression on her face fade and she smiled again as she accepted his papers. Right then he knew everything was back to normal.

Thank god she was so dense.

As she walked over to the teacher's table Ryoma took this as opportunity to bury his face on the table. Inwardly, he groaned.

This whole attraction thing was so troublesome.

**

* * *

****Three**

At age seventeen, Echizen Ryoma first experienced the bitter taste of jealousy.

Back in junior high, he never had a problem like this. Everyone, you see, was aware of the unwritten law: what was Peter's belonged to Peter; what was John's belonged to John; and what was Echizen Ryoma's belonged of course to Echizen Ryoma—and everyone knew that Ryuuzaki Sakuno was his.

Or at least they assumed her to be. (For the first time in his life, Ryoma was thankful for rumors. They had made life easier for him as they drove prospective rivals away.)

High school was an all-new different territory, however. The law was nonexistent here as proven by a certain upperclassman's audacity to step outside his boundaries.

As he walked closer to the couple, Ryoma could not help but seethe, seeing that she seemed to be enjoying her conversation with the other boy.

"By the way, I noticed you're not wearing pigtails today. Finally decided to have a change of style eh?" he heard him ask.

"No, not really," she answered shyly as she tucked a tendril behind an ear. "My rubber brands snapped earlier so…umm… I have no choice but to keep my hair this way."

"Well, I think you should always keep your hair down, Sakuno-chan," He flashed her a grin. "You look so much better without your pigtails."

It was obviously clear to Ryoma that the older boy was flirting with her. Only a blind man would not see that.

"Eh? Really?" Sakuno blinked. "Hmm…but it's a bit troublesome…"she muttered as she looked sideways to glance at the long, cascading stands of mahogany.

Ryoma let out a sharp breath. Correction: only a blind man and Ryuuzaki. (She was the epitome of denseness!)

Deciding to put an end to his upperclassman's advances, the Tennis Prince made his presence known.

"Oi, Ryuuzaki," he called out, catching the attention of both the girl and her tall, brown-haired companion. She threw him a questioning look.

"Ryoma-kun?"

Halting about two feet away from them, Ryoma alternately eyed Sakuno and the other guy. Now what? What was he supposed to say next?

_Damn,I shouldn't have been so impulsive!_ the Tennis Prince mentally scolded himself. And while he was in the middle of thinking of an excuse…

"Hey, you are Echizen Ryoma right?" the other boy suddenly blurted out. Ryoma, in response, merely stared at him blankly.

"Hi, I'm Ishikawa Yuuji and I'm a big fan of yours!" Yuuji excitedly exclaimed as he, without warning, grabbed Ryoma's hand and shook it. "I think you are so awesome!"

Stunned by how things were going, Ryoma continued to wordlessly stare at the grinning Yuuji. The Tennis Prince had never felt so crept out. Oh boy, this was some situation he was in: the guy he so badly wanted to use as a target for his Twist Serve, was actually his fan boy. It couldn't get any weirder than this.

"Hey, can I get your autograph? Or better yet, can I take your picture? "

Or maybe it could.

"Man, I can't believe I'm finally talking to you. You know, I've been a fan of yours after seeing several of your games on video and after hearing about you from–"

"Oniisan!" Sakuno suddenly cried out, cutting off Yuuji's statement before he could finish it. "Don't you have a council meeting to attend to?"

Upon hearing this, Yuuji released Ryoma's hand from his grasp and looked down on his watch. "Oh shoot! I forgot all about that!" Hastily, he turned to Sakuno and said, "Thanks for reminding me, Sakuno-chan. Matsumoto's going to throw a fit if I came in late again. Anyway, just give my regards to Grandmother okay?"

"I will. Please say hi to Uncle and Auntie for me too."

As Yuuji and Sakuno bade each other farewell, Ryoma stood still, pondering. _Oniisan…Grandmother…Uncle…Auntie…What the hell…?!_

But his thoughts were interrupted as soon as Yuuji turned to him and took his hand again. Ryoma slightly jolted.

"Ryoma-san, it's really been a pleasure meeting you," Yuuji stated, his eyes lighting up. "I hope after this, we become good friends." He smiled. "By the way, would you like to have dinner with my family this weekend?"

"Oniisan!"

"Fine, fine, I'm going now," Yuuji said as he grudgingly let go of Ryoma's hand. Eyeing the two younger teens, he saluted and grinned. "Well, see you two around."

As soon as he had left, Sakuno turned to Ryoma and bowed; her cheeks flaming in embarrassment. "I'm really for my cousin's behavior, Ryoma-kun. It's just that he really idolizes you and–"

"He's your cousin?"

Sakuno looked up and met Ryoma's inquiring gaze.

"Uh…yes." She nodded and smiled. "Although sometimes we do treat each other more like siblings."

More like siblings. More like siblings. More like siblings. Siblings. Somehow, a burden had been lifted off Ryoma's chest upon hearing this. "Good," he mumbled before a small, almost indistinguishable smile appeared on his lips. This time it was Sakuno turn to look at him inquiringly.

"Eh? Did you say something?"

Ryoma was quick to deny, however. "Nothing," he said as he wore a casual expression.

To this, Sakuno's reply was a mere monosyllabic "Oh." And for a moment, silence came in between them. Sakuno was first to break it, however. "By the way, Ryoma-kun, why were you looking for me? Is there something you need?"

Shifting uneasily, Ryoma looked away and diverted his attention to the floor. "Are you going home now?" he asked softly, almost unintelligibly.

"What?"

Releasing a sharp breath, he looked up to face her once more. "I said are you going home now?"

"Yes,why?

Instead of answering her question, Ryoma walked past her and headed towards the doorway. He paused however when he sensed no footsteps following him. Turning around, he gave Sakuno a slightly impatient look.

"Oi,what are you still standing there for?" Sakuno looked at him confusedly. Feeling a bit awkward, the Tennis Prince returned his attention towards the school exit, hiding his face from her vision. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.

"Let's go,Ryuuzaki. I'll walk you home."

"But my house is out of your way. I think—"

"When I say I'll walk you home, I'll walk you home and that's final."

Sakuno, for a second or two, did nothing but stare at his back. And then little by little, her lips curved to form a grin.

"Okay,Ryoma-kun."

Eyes bright with happiness, she walked towards the awaiting Tennis Prince.

* * *

**Four **

At age eighteen, Echizen Ryoma first brought a girl to the Echizen Family's annual get-together. And since the Echizen Family gatherings were strictly for family members _and_ for potential future family members _only_, everyone immediately assumed that Ryuuzaki Sakuno was "The One". Naturally, her presence caused a ruckus among his relatives as they were all excited to know the person who had supposedly brought him out of his asexual ways. (They all thought he was a hopeless case.)

Ryoma slightly smirked, seeing that she was being surrounded by five curious women. Sakuno looked so totally disoriented. Feeling a bit sorry for her, he almost wanted to save her from the clutches of his aunts (who all could give his father a run for his money as far as being nosy was concerned) but decided not to at the last minute. He thought it was better if she got used to them early on. After all, this was not the last time that she would be attending this get-together.

That is, _if_ she survived his relatives.

"Poor Sakuno-chan. She looks like she's going to faint with all the questions the aunties are bombarding her."

Ryoma turned to his left upon hearing a familiar voice. He saw Ryoga staring ahead, his features obviously showing his amusement.

"They all seem quite taken with her, ne Chibisuke?" the older Echizen continued. "Just take a look at Auntie Mimi. I doubt Sakuno-chan will still need to eat for a week with all the food Auntie is putting on her plate."

Ryoma followed his brother's line of vision as the other boy released a few snickers. The Tennis Prince took a sip from his can of Grape Fanta and continued to silently watch the scene between his aunts and Sakuno from afar. As he contented himself with silence, Ryoga took it as an opportunity to gloat.

"See? I was right all along!" he declared as he nudged the younger boy on the arm. "Told you she was nice and sweet and adorable and—"

"I know," Ryoma interrupted, his voice showing a hint of exasperation. "Do you think I still wouldn't get it after the past two thousand times you've told me that?"

Laughing, Ryoga looked at his brother teasingly. "Wow, you're actually keeping count?"

"It was a figure of speech," Ryoma retorted sarcastically before moving to drink his soda again. Ryoga, meanwhile, continued his most favorite activity aside from Tennis—bothering him.

"So,Chibisuke," Ryoga cleared his throat, "Seeing that you brought Sakuno-chan here must mean that you two are officially …" he let his voice trail as he wiggled his eyebrows meaningfully at the younger Echizen.

Pulling the can away from his lips, Ryoma glanced at Ryoga from the corner of his eye. He noticed the playful expression was on the other boy's face. The Tennis Prince let out a sharp breath.

"No, we are not," he answered casually before he resumed drinking.

"What?!" Ryoga looked aghast. "You mean she has no idea what her presence here means?"

"I told her that this is your 'Welcome Home' party and that you wanted her to be here."

Ryoga exasperatedly ran his fingers through his green-streaked black hair. "I can't believe this," he sighed sharply. "I just _can't_ believe this! All this time that I'm away, you were not making any progress?! Damn, Chibisuke, you may be fast inside the tennis court but you move like a snail when it comes to other things that don't involve tennis!"

In response, Ryoma hastily turned to Ryoga and gave the other boy a sharp look. He wondered why Ryoga was so worked up over the issue of his nonexistent romantic relationship with Ryuuzaki Sakuno. That wasn't supposed to be the older boy's problem anyway!

"Chibisuke, I told you I want Sakuno-chan to become an official part of our family."

Unblinking, Ryoma continued to meet his brother's authoritative gaze. "Do you want me to tell Oyaji to ask Ryuuzaki-sensei if she'd allow us to adopt her granddaughter?"

Ryoga grimaced. "Glad to know that you still have a sense of humor, Chibisuke but it's not appreciated at this time."

"Your insinuation about marriage is not appreciated either. In case you've forgotten, I'm only _eighteen_," Ryoma said, intentionally placing a strong emphasis on his age. "I haven't even graduated from high school."

"Well, I didn't tell you to marry her _now_," the older boy retorted," I just want you take that first important step."

"Fine," Ryoma waved his hand dismissively, "Let's say I took this first important step you're saying, what makes you so sure I'll end up marrying her?" he asked challengingly.

"Because you said you'll marry the first girl that you've fallen in love with, and I know you–you never back down from your word."

Furrowing his brow, Ryoma stared with his mouth slightly open. "I didn't say that."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"You did."

"When?"

"When you were four years old."

An incredulous expression appeared on Ryoma's face upon hearing his reply. "Are you crazy? You took a four year old's word!"

"Whatever, Chibisuke," Ryoga replied as he copied Ryoma's dismissive action. "I won't answer that because I know you're just trying to divert my attention from the main issue here."

As if he hadn't heard a word that Ryoga had said, Ryoma spun around and attempted to walk away. "I'm going to look for mom."

But the older Echizen prevented him from doing so. Quickly, Ryoga stood in front of him and blocked his path." You are not going anywhere until you explain why there's still no progress between the two of you."

"Why don't you ask her?" the Tennis Prince mumbled bitterly.

"What do you mean?"

For a moment, the two brothers' wordlessly stared at each other. Neither gave a sign of yielding. Until finally, Ryoma closed his eyes and released an exasperated huff.

"Look, I've already done everything I could to show her that…that… what I mean is, it's not my fault that Ryuuzaki is so dense," he said with an obvious tinge of frustration both in his voice and his features.

"Well, have you tried telling her?"

Ryoma blinked. "Do I have to?" he said it so innocently it caused Ryoga to stare at him in disbelief.

"What do you mean 'do I have to'? Of course, you have to! How will she know?"

"Well, aren't actions supposed to be louder than words? If….if she still could not get it after all I did, then that's not my problem anymore!" Ryoma cried out in exasperation. Ryoga meanwhile simply shook his head as he laid a comforting hand on the younger Echizen's shoulder.

"Chibisuke," he paused, "Mada mada da ze."

* * *

**Five**

At age eighteen still, Echizen Ryoma experienced his first kiss. And it all started with what could have been a simple and casual conversation.

"Oi, Ryuuzaki, what are you doing here all alone?"

In an unhurried pace, Ryoma walked towards the center of the softly-lit garden where a girl with two long mahogany pigtails was crouching down to watch the carps swimming leisurely inside a small, manmade pond. As he came closer, she stood up and straightened her pink, flowery sundress.

"Oh, I just wanted some fresh air, that's all," she answered with a smile.

"I see," he simply said as he stepped in beside her. He made a quick glance to his right. Even if there was already a good distance between the pond and the house, he could still hear the blaring music and the boisterous chatters coming from his aunts and from some intoxicated members of his family (like his dad and older brother, who'd mostly like get one hell of a hangover the following day considering the amount of sake they had drank for the night). There were times when Ryoma couldn't believe that he and those people were actually sharing the same bloodline.

"You have a very lively family, Ryoma-kun."

Ryoma turned to look at Sakuno upon hearing her speak. He let out a snort. "I think you meant noisy."

The pigtailed girl laughed a little as she returned her attention to the fishes swimming in the pond. "Well, yes, they are a little loud but they are really fun to be with, especially your aunts," she stated with glee. "But I have to admit at first, I felt scared of them because of the way they were eyeing me fervently when we arrived earlier but it turned out they were as nice as Rinko-san."

"Ah," he muttered as he joined her in her fish-gazing activity. For a while, there was silence as they contented themselves with just watching the clear water and the carps that swam in it. And then Sakuno spoke, breaking the taciturnity.

"By the way, Ryoma-kun, I…" she paused in hesitation, "Umm…I want to say I'm sorry."

Upon hearing this, Ryoma's attention snapped back to Sakuno. "For what?"

Clasping her hands in front of her, she bowed her head down and avoided his eyes. "Ano…it seems my presence here caused a bit of misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?"

She started fidgeting with her fingers. "Well, your Aunt Mimi mentioned a certain rule about your family gatherings and since you brought me here, they thought that you and I are…" She didn't finish her sentence as she hastily moved to face him. "But you don't have to worry, Ryoma-kun, I've already explained and cleared their misconceptions." After saying this, she gave him a sheepish grin; tinges of red colored her cheeks.

Ryoma was not happy. If this happened a few years back, he would have appreciated what she did; or if only his brain wasn't muddled with frustration, he would have understood that she only meant well and that she only did what she thought was appropriate.

But this was the present.

_So what if they thought of us that way! Was the idea so horrible for her that she had to go on correcting everyone?!_

And currently, reason wasn't working well with him.

Ryoma frowned. Why couldn't she see the point that he was trying to make when he brought her along and allowed her to meet the rest of his family?

"What's wrong, Ryoma-kun?" he heard her ask concernedly. At least, she wasn't insensible to his sour mood.

In response, he merely looked at her. A few seconds later, he sighed. "You just don't get it, do you?

She gave him a clueless look. "Get what?"

The Tennis Prince gritted his teeth. For a moment, he thought he heard Ryoga's voice inside his head.

_Chibisuke, if subtlety doesn't work, use a direct approach!_

Then direct approach it is!

He took a step forward, causing her to furrow her brow, and then, without any warning, he took her nape in his hand, bent his head down and pressed his lips against hers.

Ryoga had once told him that first kisses were always memorable. (He should know! He had tons of first kiss experiences…with different girls.) And that evening Ryoma had proven how right his brother was, although if he were given a choice, he'd rather block this memory for the rest of his life.

His first kiss was a disaster. For one, he was so clueless about what to do (why wasn't there a step-by-step manual for this?!); and two, Ryuuzaki was so rigid, he wouldn't have sensed the difference if he had kissed a tree instead. Definitely, this was far from the "wonderful" experience his brother was telling him about. The only consolation he got was that Ryuuzaki was also an amateur in this sort of thing. Call it crab mentality or whatever, but it made him feel a bit better that she was doing just as worse.

Slowly, he pulled himself away from her and Ryoma knew it was time to face the consequences of what he did.

To say that the atmosphere became awkward was an understatement. Despite the soft light coming from the moon and the lamps surrounding the garden, Ryoma could still clearly see the reddish glow on Ryuuzaki's face. As for himself? Well, he didn't want to imagine how he looked like at that moment.

"W-why did you do that?" he heard her ask, her eyes full of questions as their gazes met.

The uncomfortable feeling was replaced again by frustration as he knitted his brows together and answered her question with his own,"Are you really _that_ dense?"

She only stared at him blankly. And this was the final straw for the Tennis Prince. Pent-up feelings burst like a gun that had been fired; there was no stopping him now.

"I like you!" he cried out so loudly his relatives inside the house would have heard it if only they themselves weren't being loud as well. "I kissed you because I like you; I allowed you to meet the people important to me because I like you; I've walked you home everyday even though your house is so out of the way from mine because I like you; I continue to teach you tennis every weekend even though I hate waking up early in the morning because I like you. I don't even get jealous when Karupin likes your attention more because I like you! I like you, I like you, I like you! Now do you _get_ it?!"

And he finished his rant with an exasperated huff.

If there were other witnesses to the scene, surely none of them would think that he, the romantically-challenged Echizen Ryoma, had just confessed to the girl he loved. Instead of being a sweet talking Romeo (the sun would have to rise on the west first!), he acted like a supervisor who had just found his employee sleeping while on the job. Ryuuzaki Sakuno, on the other hand, after hearing him pour out his innermost thoughts, reacted in the least way he or anyone else thought she would.

She laughed.

Ryoma felt like a bucket of cold water (with several dozens of ice cubes included) had been poured over his head. He was both irked and confused. And hurt. True, her laughter was neither mocking nor teasing, but he didn't care. The point was, she was laughing. At him? At his confession? Both?

Damn, if only he knew everything would turn out this way, he would have kept the promise he made to himself when he was fifteen!

Love was really troublesome.

"Oi, Ryuuzaki, what the hell is so funny?"

Upon hearing his question, her laughter stopped but the smile never left her lips." Nothing," she replied as she shook her head." It's just that I'm so happy right now."

Jut as soon as these words left her mouth, his vexation slowly seeped out of him. Ryoma felt lighter. "And why are you happy?"

"Umm…because," she paused as a thoughtful expression played on her face. "Because my long wait is finally over."

Ryoma narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"I've always dreamed for this day to happen." She shyly lowered her head. "What I'm saying is, I like you too, Ryoma-kun."

The moment she said this, Ryoma became elated. The degree of happiness he got after hearing her admission was the same feeling he felt every time he dreamed about defeating his Oyaji over and over again.

It was so fulfilling.

"You like me?" he couldn't help but ask her again. (He had to be sure!)

She nodded. "Ever since we were twelve."

"Really? For that long?"

Detecting the disbelief and amazement in his voice, Sakuno met his gaze and gave him a curious look. "You mean, you didn't notice?"

Ryoma looked lost. "No."

Sakuno chuckled. "Well, I guess I'm not the only dense one here."

**Fin.**

* * *

Thank you for reading. :) 


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